The Particle Toolbox: を, に, で, へ, と, も
Six tiny words — を, に, で, へ, と and も — do the work that English leaves to word order and prepositions. Give each one a clear job description and every Japanese sentence you meet from now on snaps into place.
Spot the particles: doing something somewhere
Now listen for を, に and で in a real conversation on the street — every line below uses the particles you just learned. Tap ► and try to catch them by ear.
Shelladonna～さんは看護師ですね
Bolin-san wa, kangoshi desu ne
Bolin, you are a nurse, right?
Bolinはい、そうです
hai, sō desu
Yes, I am
Shelladonnaどこで働きますか？
doko de hatarakimasu ka?
Where do you work?
Bolinこの町の病院で働きます
kono machi no byōin de hatarakimasu
At the hospital in this town
What is a particle?
A particle is a one-syllable label that comes after a word and tells you its role in the sentence: who does what, to what, where, when and with whom. English puts "to" and "at" before a word; Japanese hangs the label on afterwards. Because every noun carries its own label, Japanese word order is far more relaxed than English — the particles, not the positions, carry the meaning.
Two spelling quirks to lock in now, both cousins of は being read wa: the particle を is pronounced o (not wo), and the particle へ is pronounced e (not he).
The game's lessons use these particles in nearly every line but never stop to explain them — this chapter is that missing explanation. The examples below borrow polite verbs like 食べます ("eat") and 行きます ("go") a chapter early; just read them as ready-made words for now — chapter 10 shows you how they work.
を — marking the direct object
を marks the direct object — the thing the verb acts on. Whatever gets eaten, drunk, read, bought or watched takes を. It is typed wo on a keyboard but always pronounced o, and this is essentially the kana's only job in modern Japanese.
パンを食べます。
pan o tabemasu.
I eat bread.
The subject "I" is dropped, as usual — the particle work happens after パン.
コーヒーを飲みます。
kōhī o nomimasu.
I drink coffee.
本を読みます。
hon o yomimasu.
I read a book.
に — destination, time and existence
に marks a point: the destination you move to, the time something happens, or the place where something exists. It also marks the receiver of giving and telling — 友達に means "to a friend". If you can draw a pin on a map or a clock face, に is usually the particle.
学校に行きます。
gakkō ni ikimasu.
I go to school.
Destination of movement — the pin on the map.
七時に起きます。
shichi-ji ni okimasu.
I get up at seven o'clock.
Clock times and days of the week take に. Relative words like きょう and あした take no particle.
猫は部屋にいます。
neko wa heya ni imasu.
The cat is in the room.
Existence — います ("exists") gets its full chapter later, but the に pattern is worth meeting now.
で — where the action happens, and by what means
で marks the stage where an action is performed, and the tool or means used to do it — "by bus", "with a pen". Contrast with に: に is the point you arrive at or exist at; で is the venue where something gets done. You go に a café, but you drink coffee で the café.
カフェでコーヒーを飲みます。
kafe de kōhī o nomimasu.
I drink coffee at a café.
バスで学校に行きます。
basu de gakkō ni ikimasu.
I go to school by bus.
Means で and destination に working side by side — particles love to team up.
ペンで名前を書きます。
pen de namae o kakimasu.
I write my name with a pen.
へ — direction
へ marks the direction of movement — "towards". As a particle it is pronounced e, never he. With verbs of motion, へ and destination に are interchangeable at N5: へ leans towards the journey and its direction, に towards the arrival point. In everyday conversation, に is the more common of the two.
日本へ行きます。
nihon e ikimasu.
I am going to Japan.
うちへ帰ります。
uchi e kaerimasu.
I am going home.
帰ります means returning to where you belong — your home, your country.
と — and (for nouns) / together with
と has two closely related jobs. Between nouns it means a complete "and": パンとコーヒー is "bread and coffee", the full list. After a person it means "together with". One caution: と joins nouns only — you cannot use it to join two sentences the way English "and" does.
パンとコーヒーを買います。
pan to kōhī o kaimasu.
I buy bread and coffee.
友達と映画を見ます。
tomodachi to eiga o mimasu.
I watch a film with a friend.
田中さんと話します。
tanaka-san to hanashimasu.
I talk with Mr/Ms Tanaka.
も — also, too
も means "also" or "too", and it works by replacing は, が or を — never sitting next to them. "I am also a student" is わたしも学生です, not わたしはも. Doubled up, AもBも means "both A and B".
わたしは学生です。田中さんも学生です。
watashi wa gakusei desu. tanaka-san mo gakusei desu.
I am a student. Mr/Ms Tanaka is a student too.
も takes the seat where は was sitting.
コーヒーも飲みます。
kōhī mo nomimasu.
I drink coffee too.
Here も has replaced を — "as well as the other things".
猫も犬もいます。
neko mo inu mo imasu.
There is a cat and a dog (both).
AもBも = "both A and B".
The toolbox at a glance
Here is the whole kit on one shelf. When a sentence confuses you, find its particles first — they tell you who is doing what to what, where and with whom.
| Particle | Core meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| を | direct object — what the verb acts on | パンを食べます |
| に | destination, point in time, place of existence | 学校に行きます |
| で | place of action; means ("by, with") | バスで行きます |
| へ | direction, "towards" (read e) | 日本へ行きます |
| と | "and" between nouns; "together with" | 友達と見ます |
| も | "also, too" — replaces は, が or を | わたしも行きます |
There is no separate practice section this time, because from here on every game lesson is particle practice: each line of dialogue runs on を, に and friends. Browse the free Japanese lessons and start spotting them — you will find one in almost every sentence.
Particle shortcuts in casual speech
Listen to friends chatting in a drama or game and you will notice particles going missing. In relaxed speech, Japanese people routinely drop を — 「コーヒー、飲む？」 ("Coffee?") instead of コーヒーを飲みますか. The direction particle へ also retreats in conversation: most speakers say 学校に行く rather than 学校へ行く, keeping へ mostly for writing, signs and announcements (「東京へようこそ」 — "Welcome to Tokyo"). Treat all of this as recognition only for now: in polite speech, in this guide and on the JLPT, keep every particle in place. Knowing what natives are leaving out is exactly what makes their shortcuts understandable.
Test yourself
Eight gaps, six particles — pick the right tool for each job.
8 quick questions on this chapter.
Your score
Common questions
Quick answers about this chapter's grammar.
What is the difference between に and で for places?
に marks a destination or the place where something exists; で marks the place where an action is performed. Compare 学校に行きます ("I go to school" — destination) with 学校で勉強します ("I study at school" — venue of the action). If a verb of doing follows, you almost always want で.
Are に and へ interchangeable?
With verbs of motion, yes — at N5 level you can treat 学校に行きます and 学校へ行きます as equivalent. The nuance is that へ points at the direction of travel while に points at the arrival point. In everyday conversation に is much more common; へ survives mainly in writing and announcements. Remember the particle へ is pronounced e.
Why is を pronounced o and not wo?
It is the same historical fossil as は being read wa: the 1946 spelling reforms kept the old written forms of the particles は, へ and を even though their pronunciations had shifted. You still type "wo" on a keyboard to get を, but you say o. Outside of this particle, the kana を barely appears in modern Japanese.
Can I drop particles the way native speakers do?
In casual conversation natives often drop を and は, and prefer に over へ. As a learner, though, keep every particle in place: the JLPT tests them directly, polite speech expects them, and producing full sentences is what trains your grammar. Learn the shortcuts for listening first — they will come out naturally in your own casual speech much later.
Want more practice? Browse all free Japanese lessons or look words up in the Japanese dictionary.